As the price of petroleum continues to increase and as the availability of petroleum becomes more difficult, methanol is becoming increasingly more important as a source for hydrocarbon-based fuels and chemicals. It is well known that methanol may be produced from the reaction of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Since these two gases are readily produced from coal, which is relatively abundant, any new method for the reaction of carbon monoxide and hydrogen to form methanol would be very useful.
Catalysts of supported rhodium metal are known to hydrogenate carbon monoxide to mixtures of, predominately, acetic acid, acetaldehyde, ethanol and methane at elevated temperatures and pressures. For example, British Pat. No. 1,501,892 described a rhodium catalyzed reaction of synthesis gas so produced predominantly acetic acid and methane with some production of acetaldehyde and ethanol and U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,913 describes a synthesis gas reaction to relatively equal amounts of acetic acid, acetaldehyde and C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 hydrocarbons with also some ethanol produced. Generally, only minor variations in this product distribution can be accomplished with catalyst additives or by manipulation of the reaction conditions.
When rhodium oxide is employed as the catalyst it is reduced in the reactor by the hydrogen and carbon monoxide reactants to rhodium metal.